Seoul Tourism Spots

6645569There are many tourist spots to visit in Seoul. Picking wherein to go for Seoul sightseeing can be a difficult choice. Some of the popular visitor sites are listed beneath alongside brief records of the area and what you may expect when you visit them.

DMZ

The DMZ, or the Demilitarized Zone, is a unique 6km stretch of land that runs throughout the Korean Peninsula and serves as a buffer among North and South Korea, countries that are technically nevertheless at warfare. It’s an iconic reminder of the tragedy of struggle, separation of people, and is one of the saddest legacies of the Cold War.

Korea was, to begin with, divided into northern and southern halves following the give up of World War II. However, after the ceasefire association following the infinite destruction and lack of three million lives from a Soviet-accredited invasion of the South by using the north, the United States changed into indefinitely divided.

The DMZ’s distinctiveness makes it Korea’s maximum popular destination for foreign traffic. However, visitation to the DMZ is strictly prohibited. Due to this prohibition, the location has come to be one of the maximum nicely-preserved stretches of wasteland in the world. Direct visits may be prohibited, but there are numerous visitor groups that provide excursions to Panmunjeom, or the Joint Security Area where the armistice between North and South turned into signed in 1953. The unification observatory tunnels North Koreans have constructed beneath the DMZ and Woljeongri Station, the final train station earlier than the DMZ, can also be visited.

There are numerous reasons for DMZ’s specialty. It stands because the remaining bastion of the Cold War and visitors can find out about peace and war. Also, it’s far an area where one ought to visit advantage expertise of Korean psyche, which as for is in large part shaped via the occupations, wars, and department the state has suffered. Most of the popular DMZ attractions are positioned inside 90 mins of Seoul.

Gyeongbokgung

Three years after the Joseon Dynasty became based, the first royal palace built was the Gyeongbokgung in 1395. The vicinity of the Gyeongbokgung changed into appointed capital of Seoul, back then referred to as Hanyang, and represented the sovereignty of the Joseon Dynasty. Gyeongbokgun is the largest of amongst Gyeonghuigung, Deoksugung, Changgyeonggun, and Changdeokgung, the 5 Grand Palaces, and served as the primary palace of the Joseon Dynasty.

Until the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592-1598, Gyeongbokgung continued to serve as the primary palace. All the palaces had been seriously damaged and Gyeongbokgun turned into now not reconstructed until 1868. The palace becomes accelerated to a 410,000 rectangular meter complex with over 500 buildings. Gyeongbokgung flourished for several many years till the Japanese once more destroyed the palaces during their occupation of Korea in 1910-1945. Restored buildings had been torn down, Gwanghwamun Gate became relocated and the Japanese General Government Building became constructed in front of the principle location of the palace.

Since 1990, there has been an ongoing attempt via the Korean government to rebuild and restore the buildings destroyed. The 40 12 months restoration undertaking pursuits to completely restore Gyeongbokgung Palace to its original shape. The palace is currently open to the public and houses National Palace Museums of Korea and the National Folk Museum of Korea. Only 40% of the buildings were restored, however, there are many stunning matters to peer at the palace.

Geunjeongjeon is the throne hall of Gyeongbokgun wherein the king became formally briefed by using his officials, issued proclamations, and greeted foreign envoys and ambassadors.

Gyeonghoeru is a particularly prized architectural shape used as a pavilion. It is located subsequent to Geunjeongjeon on an artificial island in the center of a square lake with 3 stone bridges stretching out to the palace grounds.

Hyangwonjeong is likewise a pavilion placed north of the palace website online. The hexagonal pavilion turned into built by the order of King Gojong on a synthetic island in a lake and became linked to the palace grounds by way of a bridge.